“Quite frankly, whether a woman intends on having children or not is none of their bloody business,” insisted New Zealand human rights commissioner Jackie Blue.

“Oh, and by the way, it’s illegal to ask those questions as they breach the Human Rights Act.”

Pop culture website thespinoff.co.nz commentator, Madeleine Holden, added: “Asking Ardern about her plans to have children implicitly reinforces the sexist notion that a woman’s primary role is motherhood, no matter how accomplished she is in other areas.”

The 37-year-old succeeded the outgoing Andrew Little on Tuesday – and will attempt to prevent prime minister Bill English from winning a fourth term.